GenRac's Concordia

Genrac Associates wanted to build this complex on a 25-acre parcel on Mill Road in Riverhead’s Agricultural Protection Zone

(see map) but first needed a change of zone from the Town Board to move forward. The plan calls for 100 independent living and 89 assisted living units for a total of 225,000 sq. ft. on land that would otherwise remain vacant field, get developed with a dozen homes or resume being farmed. The Suffolk County Planning Commission advised the Town Board against rezoning this parcel, with its prime agricultural soils, because other parcels are available in Riverhead (read decision). To override the Commission, the Town Board needed a supermajority (4 of 5 votes) to rezone for the project (read article). The RNPC does not believe the Town should rezone this agriculturally zoned property to enable the Concordia project.

In January, 2013, the Planning Board cited numerous problems with the zoning use category and the Concordia site plan itself, BUT instead of advising against the zone change it curiously recommended the Town Board change the zone on all parcels that qualify for the problematic RC zoning conditional upon the Town Board addressing numerous issues.

The majority of the Town Board does not favor the rezoning and indicated (in the spring of 2013) that they would, instead, be taking a hard second look at the Retirement Community (RC) zoning. (1/14)